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Beef stew is best cooked over low heat for a long period of time, making it a perfect candidate for crock pot cooking. Traditional beef stews are made from cuts of beef like chuck roast, but you can also make a slow-cooked beef stew using meatballs formed with ground beef. Keep reading for more information about cooking various types of beef stew in your crock pot.

Steps

Method1

Heat the oil in a large skillet. Pour the oil into a large skillet and heat on the stove over medium-high heat. Meanwhile, make sure that your beef and vegetables are already prepared.

The beef should be cut into 1-in (2.5-cm) cubes. You can usually find pre-cut beef stew meat in the butcher's department at the grocery store, but if not, you can trim and cut a chuck roast or bottom round cut.

The garlic clove should be minced. If using pre-minced garlic, use 1/2 tsp (2.5 ml). If using garlic powder, use 1/8 tsp (0.625 ml).

The onion and celery should be roughly chopped.

You can use 3 large baking potatoes or 6 to 9 baby potatoes.

Use 4 standard carrots or 2 cups (500 ml) baby carrots.

2

Coat the beef with flour, salt, and pepper. Mix the flour, salt, and pepper in a large bowl. Add the beef to the mixture and toss to coat.

Make sure that the flour, salt, and pepper are thoroughly combined before adding the beef.

Stir the beef well so that all sides of each piece are covered. You should have little to no flour left once done.

Coating the beef in flour allows the beef to brown better and also makes the finished stew thicker.

3

Brown the beef. Transfer the coated beef to the hot oil in your skillet. Cook for several minutes, uncovered, stirring frequently until all sides are browned.

Browning the beef is only optional, so you can skip this step if you are short on time. Most cooks prefer to brown the beef, though, because doing so creates a more complex taste. Moreover, browning the beef prevents grease from causing the meat to clump together in your crock pot.[2]

4

Place all the beef stew ingredients in the slow cooker. Transfer the beef to the crock pot. Layer the potatoes, carrots, onion, celery, and garlic on top. Add the bay leaf, paprika, and Worcestershire sauce, then pour the beef broth over everything.

The exact order of ingredients does not matter much, but for best results, the beef, potatoes, and carrots should make up the bottom three layers since these ingredients require the most heat to cook through. Note that the heating element of the crock pot is located on the bottom of the device.

5

Cook on Low for 10 to 12 hours. You could also cook the stew on High for 4 to 6 hours.

Keep the crock pot covered as the stew cooks. A slow cooker needs to build up heat in order to cook properly, and the heat will be unable to build up if the lid is kept off or removed during the cooking process.

6

Serve hot. Remove the bay leaf when done and ladle the warm stew into serving bowls.

Keep the slow cooker on a Low or Warm setting until everyone has been served.

Method3

Combine the beef, salt, and pepper. Place the ground beef, 1 tsp (5 ml) salt, and 1/4 tsp (1.25 ml) black pepper in a large bowl. Use your hands to thoroughly blend the seasonings into the beef.

Clean hands are the best way to mix the beef and seasonings, but you may use a wooden mixing spoon instead, if desired.

2

Form meatballs. Shape the beef mixture into 1-inch (2.5-cm) balls using your hands.

You could also use a greased melon-baller or small spoon to form the meatballs.

3

Brown the meatballs. Place the meatballs in a large skillet and brown them over medium heat.

Make sure that the meatballs are browned on all sides. Stir them frequently as they cook.

You do not need to add oil to the skillet in order to brown the meatballs. The fat in the ground beef that renders off into liquid form should suffice, even when using lean ground beef.

Drain when finished.

4

Place the vegetables and meatballs in the crock pot. Layer the potatoes, carrots, and onions on the bottom. Place the meatballs on top.

The potatoes and carrots should be placed on the bottom of the slow cooker because they require more heat to cook. The heating element of the slow cooker is located at the bottom of the device, so the bottom is the hottest portion.

5

Pour the remaining ingredients into the slow cooker. Combine the water, ketchup, cider vinegar, basil, and remaining salt and pepper in a separate bowl. Pour the mixture over the meatballs and vegetables.

You do not need to stir the sauce into the ingredients in the crock pot. Allow the sauce to seep into the ingredients on its own.

6

Cook on Low for 6 to 8 hours. If you need to prepare the stew quicker, cook it on High for 4 hours.

Keep the lid on the slow cooker at all times. Removing the lid can cause heat to escape, thereby lengthening the necessary cooking time.

To make traditional beef stew in a crock pot, cut the beef into 1-inch cubes and toss them in a mixture of flour, salt, and pepper in a large bowl. Next, brown the beef for several minutes in a hot skillet before transferring it to the crock pot. Then, add the potatoes, carrots, onion, celery, garlic, bay leaf, paprika, Worcestershire sauce, and beef broth. Finally, cook the stew on LOW for 10 to 12 hours, or cook it on HIGH for 4 to 6 hours. For variations on the traditional recipe, read on!

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wikiHow is a “wiki,” similar to Wikipedia, which means that many of our articles are co-written by multiple authors. To create this article, volunteer authors worked to edit and improve it over time. This article has also been viewed 86,294 times.